Hierodula membranacea -wing buds and fat belly

[Deacon]

Female sub-adult, Jasmine, is happily eating anything I give her. Her total food for the last three days has been a 1" Dubia (the whole thing), cricket same size, 8 BB flies. I am only concerned because my first Chinese got too fat (or egg bound) and had a prolapsed anus which ultimately killed her.

I noticed today that the underside of her abdomen is showing shiny dark bands between her segments. Is this normal for this species at her age or is she eating too much? My sub-adult Double Shield female, Hannah, eats the same amount but her abdomen is not "expanded". They last molted on Dec 4 and 8 respectively.

Another question---how full do the wing buds get before the final molt? Hannah's are totally flat but Jasmine's are starting to puff a little. Is that a good indicator as to when she could molt? I figured she would molt to adult between Christmas and New Year's.

Thanks for your ideas.

 

[Rick]

I wouldn't worry too much about overfeeding. A mantis will not burst and knows when to stop eating. I typically feed gravid females daily. My suggestion is to keep a plump abdomen somewhere between looking like it is going to burst and flat.

The dark bands you see are normal.

Right before the final molt wings buds become very swollen and won't be laying flat. You will know.

 

[Deacon]

Thanks, Rick.

Because my first mantis mis-molted badly on the final molt, I'm torn whether to move Jasmine out of the plain 32 oz cup (1/2" heavy mesh on the sides, organza lid with a large patch of that bubbly shelf liner---where she hangs all the time) or move her into her future 80 oz cup that will be decorated. If she's a good 3" she won't hit bottom in either cup, but do they need something to grab onto when they are almost finished?

I assume it was you who cleaned up my new topic posts that posted 3 incompletes? Anyway, the offending partials are now gone so I'm thanking you :balloon:

Nancy